1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a powder collecting container and an image forming apparatus.
2. Related Art
In image forming apparatuses such as an electrophotographic copying-machine and a laser beam printer, residual toner adhering to a photoreceptor drum is removed by a cleaner after a toner image developed on the photoreceptor drum is transferred onto a recording sheet. The removed residual toner is collected into a waste toner collecting box (powder collecting container) provided in the image forming apparatus as waste toner (used powder).
Recently, a color image forming apparatus has emerged, which obtains a color image by primary-transferring multicolor toner images formed by plural image forming engines from a photoreceptor drum to an intermediate transfer belt and then secondary-transferring the toner images onto a recording sheet. In the case of the color image forming apparatus, the photoreceptor drum and the cleaner for cleaning the photoreceptor drum are present in each of image forming engines respectively corresponding to yellow, cyan, magenta, and black. Accordingly, the necessity of collecting waste toner from the cleaners of the four image forming engines arises. In addition, after the toner images are secondary-transferred from the above intermediate transfer belt to the recording sheet, it is necessary to clean residual toner adhering to the intermediate transfer belt. A cleaner is provided corresponding to the intermediate transfer belt. Thus, in the case of the color image forming apparatus, waste toner is collected into a waste toner collecting box from plural cleaners.
In addition, in order to omit an operation of replacing deteriorated powder in a developing unit using two-component powder containing toner and carrier, the image forming apparatus employs a trickle developing method of discarding the deteriorated powder while the developing unit is replenished with new two-component powder. In the case of employing this developing method, the deteriorated powder discharged from each of the developing units is also collected into the waste toner collecting box.
Waste toner collecting boxes are consumables. Generally, a waste toner collecting box is replaced with an empty waste toner collecting box when the waste toner collecting box is filled with waste toner.